Class action lawsuit filed against Entergy for Isaac response

A class action lawsuit has been filed against two Entergy subsidiaries, WDSU has learned.

The suit names both Entergy New Orleans and Entergy Louisiana as defendants and cites their responses to the damage caused by Hurricane Isaac last week and their planning for such an occurrence.

In it, plaintiffs claim the companies failed to adequately prepare for a major storm.

Two residential customers and two business customers -- from Orleans and Jefferson parishes -- are the lead parties.

The lawsuit argues that Entergy was negligent in preparing for and reacting to the storm. Entergy officials have noted that crews were unable to begin power restoration work until winds dropped below 30 miles per hour, but plaintiffs' attorney Tony Clayton told WDSU the slow start on work was not at issue.

"It's not the wind, it's the restoration," he said. "Entergy had a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars after Hurricane Katrina to put in place efforts to stop or prohibit or lessen the impact of a storm of this nature. Moreover, they were awarded surcharges to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars to have things like that in place."

Clayton said it is reasonable to anticipate tropical storm or hurricane-force winds, and that improvements should have been made to the lines serving customers.

"It's what Entergy did not do that is causing the problems," he said, noting that "people are suffering" as a result.

A spokesperson for Entergy New Orleans, speaking for both named defendants, told WDSU in a statement: "We are aware of a lawsuit related to our storm preparation and response, however, we have not received it. We believe that any review of our storm preparation, plans and response is appropriate for the Louisiana Public Service Commission and the New Orleans City Council."

The class action status must be approved by a judge before the case proceeds. Clayton said the discovery phase can begin immediately, since the lawsuit has been filed in civil court.

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